This is exactly the cover of the version that I read. One of the first classics that I've come across and enjoyed. I wouldn't have started reading Crime and Punishment had it not been for the Korean criminal TV series Gapdong. (One of the main characters of the series, Ryu Tae Oh, a psychopath, disillusioned and devastated, tells the teenage girl who has always blindly believed in his conversion to be his Sonia). Deriving great pleasure from watching the TV series, I seek to read Crime and Punishment, imagining how the novel would serve as the sequel of the TV series, which, obviously, it's not (as it turned out for me hahaha)
Of course, the beauty of a masterpiece is at its fullest only when the piece is read in its original language. Unfortunately, I can't read Russian, so it is important to note that the imperfections I felt of Crime and Punishment may not be Dostoyevsky's limits. Again, this is a review written by a Vietnamese who read this Russian novel in its English translation. See what I mean?
Of course, the beauty of a masterpiece is at its fullest only when the piece is read in its original language. Unfortunately, I can't read Russian, so it is important to note that the imperfections I felt of Crime and Punishment may not be Dostoyevsky's limits. Again, this is a review written by a Vietnamese who read this Russian novel in its English translation. See what I mean?
Undoubtedly, this is a hard book for me to review, not only because it is hard to read, but also because it has been read and reviewed and loved and hated by so many people of all times. So, here you go...
Crime and Punishment feels really loooooooooooooong, and I almost got fed up with it at the beginning of the book, but I'm glad that I kept on reading for the latter parts got better and better and better. Admittedly, I'm not very familiar with this prose style, very long prose passages with a lot of characters' intra-communication and self-thoughts. Some of these parts in the novel I feel superfluous, but I was not sure if this was the author's intention, because Dostoyevsky seems to place much more emphasis on describing character's psyches than on picturing whatever there's left.
Looking at Crime and Punishment from an arts and humanity angle, sure it is splendid. The masterpiece asks more questions than it answers, and my favorite is: " Would not one tiny crime be wiped out by thousands of good deeds?" The book also poses a question concerning the real definition of a CRIME. This thought surged through my mind as I saw our protagonist, Raskolnikov, from time to time, though admitting his act of murder, refusing to be accused of having committing a CRIME. Well, I like things that can make me think really deeply, to the point it makes me feel like having a bullet in my brain. (JKLOL)
The gloominess of this book is unquestionable. Close your eyes and Petersburg that you have never been to suddenly shrinks to a small village. Everyone in Crime and Punishment seems to know everyone else. Rumors travel faster than light, which makes the wretches' lives even more... wretched. Anyone is full of judgements and prejudice. The creatures in Crime and Punishment, if not being the sufferers, are the source of others' sufferings. There is not a single character in the novel who fails to win readers' pity. Even the seem-to-be evil Svidrigaïlov infects sorrow to readers' hearts when he lets go of Dounia and finishes himself in delirium.
Gloomy as it may seem, Crime and Punishment is still able to melt reader's heart by the love and the compassion of its characters. I'm particularly intrigued by the love between Raskolnikov and Sonia. That love is extraordinary, yet real. It's not the illusional love that makes foolish people die for each other. There is still mixed hatred and disgust and fear, but mutual understanding and empathy manage to conquer all the rest. (I feel like this kind of love is bigger and more altruistic than love developed from mutual liking. I may be wrong tho, cos I don't really have any experience with love '_'.) Of course, between Raskolnikov and Sonia is not the only place where love appears in Crime and Punishment. (The epilogue is the sweetest part awwwwwwwwwwww *heart*heart*heart*)
Hardly anywhere do we see a criminal loved and respected as much as Raskolnikov. Dostoyevsky spares him a happy ending. The punishment he gets from society is 8 years imprisonment, but the real and greatest punishment is carried out in his head: all the illness, agitation, insanity, the fight against and momentary submissions to the monster inside. It's important to know that Raskol is not a psychopath (lol), but just a genius whose life stuck in the middle of no where, eager to test his own theorem. He is actually a loving and helpful human being, nowhere near evil, as far as my assessment goes '_' Well, I dread to know what's in the heads of geniuses. lol.
One very interesting thing that I noticed about Crime and Punishment is that it draws a perfectly clear line between genders. Male characters are described differently from female characters. All the men in the book are of great vanity and ambition, and are not willing to sit back unless that vanity is flattered. Also, Dostoyevsky spends more time writing about male characters' states of mind, while describing those of women really briefly.
Anyone must acknowledge Dostoyevsky's talent as exceptional if they know he wrote Crime and Punishment and another book at the same time due to financial problem. Needless to say, listed as one of the all-time classics, Crime and Punishment is worth your attention. However, there is no guarantee that you'll like it. :-ss
Rating: 7/10
Đùa chứ muốn dịch bài review này qua tiếng Việt gê nhưng mà sự lười nhác không cho phép '_'
Gloomy as it may seem, Crime and Punishment is still able to melt reader's heart by the love and the compassion of its characters. I'm particularly intrigued by the love between Raskolnikov and Sonia. That love is extraordinary, yet real. It's not the illusional love that makes foolish people die for each other. There is still mixed hatred and disgust and fear, but mutual understanding and empathy manage to conquer all the rest. (I feel like this kind of love is bigger and more altruistic than love developed from mutual liking. I may be wrong tho, cos I don't really have any experience with love '_'.) Of course, between Raskolnikov and Sonia is not the only place where love appears in Crime and Punishment. (The epilogue is the sweetest part awwwwwwwwwwww *heart*heart*heart*)Hardly anywhere do we see a criminal loved and respected as much as Raskolnikov. Dostoyevsky spares him a happy ending. The punishment he gets from society is 8 years imprisonment, but the real and greatest punishment is carried out in his head: all the illness, agitation, insanity, the fight against and momentary submissions to the monster inside. It's important to know that Raskol is not a psychopath (lol), but just a genius whose life stuck in the middle of no where, eager to test his own theorem. He is actually a loving and helpful human being, nowhere near evil, as far as my assessment goes '_' Well, I dread to know what's in the heads of geniuses. lol.
One very interesting thing that I noticed about Crime and Punishment is that it draws a perfectly clear line between genders. Male characters are described differently from female characters. All the men in the book are of great vanity and ambition, and are not willing to sit back unless that vanity is flattered. Also, Dostoyevsky spends more time writing about male characters' states of mind, while describing those of women really briefly.
Anyone must acknowledge Dostoyevsky's talent as exceptional if they know he wrote Crime and Punishment and another book at the same time due to financial problem. Needless to say, listed as one of the all-time classics, Crime and Punishment is worth your attention. However, there is no guarantee that you'll like it. :-ss
Rating: 7/10
Đùa chứ muốn dịch bài review này qua tiếng Việt gê nhưng mà sự lười nhác không cho phép '_'
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